Question for those of you who have exhausted Clomid options. I hear you can only do six rounds of Clomid due to safety risks. I ended up having my second of six IUI cycles cancelled this month because I overstimulated and released over a dozen follicles. Question is, does this mean that I really have only four IUI cycles left? I tried emailing my doctor after my last appointment, but only the nurse wrote back and said that yes, I used up one of my cycles. Has this happened to anyone before? Were you able to get in one more cycle by switching to another med? I will ask my doctor at the next appointment, but that won’t be for a couple of weeks. Thanks!
Re: Clomid question (six tries, you’re out)
I'd call and ask to talk to your doctor over the phone, and see what he/she recommends for the next steps. My RE told me 80-85% of women that get pregnant with IUI do so within 3 cycles. He said he'll do 4, but your odds at that point of IUI working are so low they recommend moving on to IVF. Good luck!
Dx: PCOS
DS1 born 11/2014
DS2 born 11/2018
3 previous losses
Rainbow baby due 12/2021 - Team Green
Can you reach out to your doctor's office again to make a plan?
Officially diagnosed with unexplained infertility after 4 years of TTC
IUI#2 gave us DS#1 who became an angel a few minutes after birth from Noonan syndrome
IUI#4 gave us DS#2 - going strong as a toddler!
TTC again... Found a clinical trial for unexplained infertility and finished 16 weeks of "lifestyle intervention"
Cycle #1 - cancelled for ovarian cyst x3...
Married Oct 2010, TTC ~7yrs
Seeing RE since Spring 2013
Clomid - no response
Letrozole (6 months) 2015
Laperoscopy/Hysteroscopy in 2015
Puregon injectibles + trigger x5 in 2016 - all BFN
Started IVF March 2017 - 25 follies, 9 eggs, 3 fertilised, 1 survived-> frozen due to hyper stimulation of ovaries
FET May 16th 2017, BFP May 27th 2017, m/c @ 9wks
IVF #2 February 2018 - 16 eggs, 8 fertilised, 3 frozen embabies
Awaiting FET April 2018 - cancelled (cyst)
FET May 2018, BFP June 2nd 2018, m/c @ 8wks
FET October 2018 - BFN
Final FET - late November 2018
They also want to limit your exposure to clomid because it can be hard on your body. If memory serves, it can even increase your risk of ovarian cancer, taking it too much.
I'm curious though if clomid is actually the right option for you. It seems like you're over-responding to the clomid, so I'd talk you your doctor about your dosage, and also I'd ask about PCOS. Do you have a diagnosis about your IF? Have you had other testing done? There are other drugs than clomid - some women have taken Letrozole, I think.
Also, because you have a history of cysts with these clomid cycles, did they test your E2 levels? Your E2 levels will give some indication of whether or not you have any mature eggs in those follicles. Keep in mind too, if your follicles are too big, there's a possibility that your eggs will be "overmature" and won't fertilize either.
During my clomid + IUI cycles, I usually had about 4 follicles with (we estimate) 3 mature eggs. I didn't get pregnant any of the times. I have unexplained infertility.
Truthfully, if I had many follies (even a dozen), but a n E2 level indicating about 3-4 mature eggs, I'd proceed with the IUI or at least TI. (That is, if I were comfortable enough to have TI. Having that many follicles is really uncomfortable!)
Good luck!
But as PPs have stated if iui hasn't worked after 4 or 5 cycles you may be better off moving on to ivf (if that's a possibility for you). Continuing to try iui after repeated failures would most likely be a waste of both time and money.
TTC since July 2015
Unexplained infertility - delayed/weak ovulation but don't know why
BFP Feb 2016 MC at 6.5 weeks
Started Clomid November 2016
BFP March 2017 (third cycle on Clomid) HCG failed to rise, MC at 6 weeks.
IUI July 2017 BFP which turned out to be CP
IVF scheduled for Feb 2018
You said ivf isn't an option. May I ask why? I'm nervous they may tell us ivf is our only option because I'm not sure if we will be able to afford it.
I have done 6 rounds of Clomid with an ob. I am moving to an RE on the 21st and I have no idea what meds they will try but I don't feel comfortable using Clomid any more than 6 times so I am glad there are other options!
So far I seem to have unexplained infertility (33 years old, with the only thing being kind of off a borderline AMH of 1.39 as of a year ago). I only had blood tests way back in May, and my clinic doesn’t test them monthly just with Clomid. So don’t know much about E2.